Tire.



W. I. TWOM'BLY.

TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. z, 1910.

Patentqd Feb..27,1912.

mvfmon: 'Irving lv-vombly A ToRNr-:Y

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLARD IRVING TWOMBLY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, T0 TWOMBLY MOTORS COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

TIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 2, 1910. Serial No. 553,104.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLARD IRVING TWOMBLY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improve ment in Tires, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pneumatic tires for vehicle wheels, and it is the object of the invention to provide a simple, compact, durable and eflicient tire of this character, which is cheap in construction and readily applied to a vehicle wheel.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a tire of this character which is non-puncturable and having a minimum liability to blowouts.

In carrying out the invention I provide a rim constructed to form an annular casing of channel section, which casing is secured to the felly of a wheel. Within said casing I place an inflatable air tube, a flexible metal armor also engaging in the casing to have radial movement therein, and a sheathing being interposed between the armor and air tube. A suitable tread is secured to and carried by the armor. The said annular casing and armor constitute an entirely closed and puncture-proof casing for the air tube.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification Figure 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle wheel, with my improved tire applied thereto, the said wheel being shown as encountering and riding over an obstruction. Fig. 2 is a detail to illustrate the manner of the overl lapping of the armor and the securing of the tread and armor sections to the flexible band. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, the section-being taken on the line A#A and looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is van enlarged cross-sectional view of my improved tire applied to a wheel felly. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail plan elevation of a section of the tread and flexible armor; and Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view illustrating a modification.

Similar characters of reference designate like arts throughout the different views of the rawin s.

In the orm of my invention as illustrated in Fig. 1 I have shown the same as applied to a vehicle wheel comprising the usual hub 1, the radiating spokes 2 and a felly 3. Secured to said wheel felly is a rim of any suitable non-puncturable material, such as metal, comprising an annular section 4, angle shaped in cross section, fixed Ato the periphery of the felly by means of vbolts 5, and an annular section or plate 6 .secured to the side of the felly by bolts 7, vsaid sections 1 and 6 having laterally extending flanges' 8 and 9, and so constructed as to form an annular casing substantially channel or U-shaped in cross section. In said casing I place the usual inflatable air tube 10 provided with a valve 12 extending through the felly 3, to which may be connected an air pump to inflate said tube. vWithin said casing or housing is carried a flexible armor for the air tube, which may consist, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5, of a series of overlapping or interlocking metal strips or plates 13, preferably of clock spring steel, bent at right angles to form flanges 14, 15 at their lateral edges soas to permit of a free radial sliding movement in the casing, said plates being cut away as at l14', to permit of the overlapping of the plates, and a flexible channel shaped band 16 of any suitable material, such as leather or the like, to which the metal strips 13 are secured, the edges 17, 18 of the ring 16 extending around the air tube 10 between said air tube and the inner walls of the sections 1, 6 of the casing to protect said air tube from being ruptured by coming in contact with the flanges 14, 15 of the flexible armor sections 13, and also to prevent creeping of said tube. Outside of said armor I provide a suitable tread, illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 as consisting of a sectional tread comprising a series of blocks 19 of any suitable mate? rial, such as rubber, fiber, wood or the like, one block for each section of the flexible armor, the said tread sections 19 being of less length than said armor sections to permit ofthe overlapping or interlocking of said armor sections, and also of less width to permit of the freeradial movement of the blocks between the rim flanges (Fig. 5). The armor sections and tread blocks are secured to the band or ring 16 in any suitable manner, and shown in the present instance as comprising studs 20 passing with the flanges 8, 9 of the casing section, I

provide a suitable noise deadener, of some suitable flexible material, in the present instance shown as comprising a piece of fabric 24, which may be vulcanized to the tread section 19, or applied in strip form to the outer surface of the armor sections between said sections and the flanges 8 and 9 of the annular casing.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I have shown the studs .as extending to a distance slightly below the outer surface of the tread leaving a recess or cup in the tread sections which materially increase the resiliency of the tread. In these views the blocks are also shown as provided with a recess 25, thus decreasing the cost of the tread, and also tending to increase the resiliency of the same.

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated, somewhat diagrammatically, the action of the wheel and flexible protecting armor and Atread when the wheel encounters and rides over an obstruction D. In said Fig. 1 as the wheel encounters the obstruction approximately one-third of the shock is imparted to the vehicle wheel and body, raising said wheel substantially one-third of the height of the obstruction, as illustrated by the dotted line 35, the greater portion of the shock, however, being taken up by the tire.

l When it rides upon the obstruction a rolling sections 4 and 6. This action of the tread and armor causes a partial compression of the air in the air tube 10, and as soon as the wheel has ridden over the obstruction the air in said tube causes the parts to resume their normal positions.

From the foregoing description, and as illustrated in the drawings, it will be obvious that I produce a pneumatic tire that will readily respond to any shock without undue shock to the vehicle body, and which is inevery way as ellicient as a pneumatic tire the shoe of which is constructed of rubber, or a combination of rubber with a fabric reinforcement, with the additional advantage, owing to the annular casing and the armor being constructed of metal or the -material, such as fabric, felt or the like, to

protect the air tube against rupture by the said armor or the heads 22 of the studs. If desired said protecting sheathing may be directly connected to the air tube 10 as by cementing or otherwise.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated the walls 4, 6 of the annular casing as being provided with inwardly-turned or hooked flanges 37, 38, and the metal strips 13 provided at their lateral edges with outwardly-extending anges 39, 40 to engage in the recesses or channels formed by the inwardly-turned or hooked flanges on the casing walls. By

ythis construction the sections 13 may be made of very thin material without any liability of the air pressure in the air tube 10 causing the same to be displaced from Within the annular casing, the inwardlyturned or hooked flanges in such case havin a lirm locking engagement with the sa1d flanges 37 38.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a Vehicle wheel, the combination with the wheel felly, of an annular casing of channel section fixed to saidfelly, each wall of which casing has a laterally extend-v ing flange; an inflatable air tube .carried Within said casing; a flexible armor, comprising a series of circumferentially disposed and overlapping metal plates carried by the casing within the flanges, the lateral edges of said platesbeing bent at right angles to form flanges to have sliding engagement with the inner walls of the casing; circumferentially-disposed blocks, one block for each of the metal plates; and shouldered studs passing through the blocks and plates to secure them together; said armor and tread adapted to have radial movement into the casing.

2. The combination in a pneumatic tire, of an annular U-shaped metal casing each wall of which has a laterally-extending flange; an inflatable air tube carried within said casing; a flexible metal band, comprising a series of overlapping metal plates hav- 1o pair of annular sections fixed partly lap around the air tube;

radial movement in ing flanges at their lateral edges and carried by said annular casing to have radial movement therein within the flanges; blocks of less length than the plates; a retaining ring 5 to which the plates and blocks are secured;

and a sheathin interposed between the air tube and retaining ring.

3. In a vehicle wheel, the combination fwith the wheel felly, of a rim comprising a to the felly to form a casing channel-shaped in cross section; an air tube in said casing; a flexible leather band extending around the said air tube said band being of such width as to a flexible armor, comprismg a series of overlapping metal plates; a tread; and studs to secure the plates and tread to the leather band; said armor with the tread adapted to have the rim.

4. In a vehicle wheel, the combination with the wheel felly, of an annular section angular in cross section secured to the periphery of the felly, and an annular section l2,5 secured to one side of the felly, said sections forming an annular casing channel shaped in cross section, each section of which has a laterally projecting iiange; an air tube in said casing; a flexible armor comprising a series of circumferentially disposed and lates carried within the overlapping metal movement therein, the

rim to have radia Copies of this patent may be obtained for lateral edges of said plates being bent to form flanges to have sliding engagement with the inner'walls of the casing, with portions of the flanges cut away to permit of the overlapping of the plat/es; a tread comprising circum erentially disposed rectanguar blocks, one block `for each plate but of less width and length than said plates; a flexible retaining band interposed between the armor and the air tube, said band being of such width as to partly lap around the air tube; and studs to secure the metal plates and blocks to the retaining band.

5. In a vehicle wheel, the combination with the wheel elly, of a rim comprising a pair of annular sheet metal sections fixed to the felly to form an annular casing of channel section; an inflatable air tube in said casing; a flexible leatherv band extending partly around the air tube; a flexible armor comprising a series of overlapping metal plates having anges at their lateral edges with portions of said anges cut away to permit of the overlapping of said plates; a sectional tread comprislng circumferentially disposed blocks; and studs to sec-ure the (plates and tread sections to the leather ban VVILLARD IRVING TWOMBLY. Witnesses:

J oHN O. SEIFERT, PAULA PHILIPPS.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

